Chapter 134

Chapter 134

/You have acquired the Qi Gong Technique, Duality Cultivation Technique!/

‘Done. That was easy.’

Merlin initially felt relieved when finalizing his qi circulation, but he soon realized that something felt off. According to the Duality Cultivation Technique, his internal energy had taken shape, but to him, nothing changed.

“… Huh?”

Merlin was perplexed. There was no sign of a split in his consciousness, even though the Duality Cultivation Technique was operating properly.

“Did something go wrong?”

“What’s the matter?” asked Miho.

“No, it’s nothing. I was doing some training, but something unexpected occurred. I’ll just try again.”

Merlin shook his head and took a cross-legged position, which he did to focus on the Duality Cultivation Technique more earnestly, but suddenly he realized that someone was standing in front of him.

“Dummy.”

It was a young boy, around ten years old. He had dark hair and black eyes. Although he looked like a typical Asian boy, his face was pleasant to look at. He stared at Merlin with an expressionless face.

“Idiot.”

The boy vollied another condescending insult, but Merlin couldn’t respond. Although the boy was clearly standing there, Merlin couldn’t sense his aura or qi. Even with Enhanced Eyesight, Merlin couldn’t figure out what kind of existence the boy was.

“W-who… are you?”

Merlin blurted out a question, but the young boy didn’t offer a response.

“Don’t speak with your mouth, idiot. Are you fond of being treated like a madman?”

“Treated like a madman? What are you talking about…”

Quiet Heaven looked at Merlin with a frown.

“What’s wrong, Master? Are you whispering to someone?”

Putting the issue of how an eagle could make a facial expression aside, it seemed like Quiet Heaven could not see the young boy.

‘… A ghost?’

However, this conclusion didn’t make any sense. Quiet Heaven, using its powers in Dao perception, could look inside a person and see their inner soul. However, it was unable to see the young boy. Moreover, Miho used magic that allowed her to deal with ghosts, but she couldn’t see the boy either. Even the ghosts from the Dead Earth were hunted by Level 6 users like simple prey, so it didn’t make sense that Quiet Heaven and Miho, who were more proficient in dealing with ghosts, couldn’t sense the young boy.

“Oh, um, sorry. I must not have controlled my voice with the whisper function. I spoke aloud without even realizing it.”

“Make sure that you’re cognizant of your surroundings. If not, you’ll be treated like a madman.”

Merlin nodded and turned his attention back to the boy. Then, the boy spoke.

“Dummy. Idiot. Imbecile.”

‘W-why are you so rude?’

Though he didn’t notice what was going on immediately, Merlin guessed who the young boy might be.

“Because you’re being a dunce.”

‘Why?’

“Shut it. You’re so noisy, ugh.”

‘…’

Merlin was at a loss for words. For whatever reason, the young boy seemed to detest him.

‘This is my inner self? Am I such a self-deprecating, masochistic person?’

The young boy was his inner self that arose from the Duality Cultivation Technique. However, though the Duality Cultivation Technique was a Qi Gong Technique that created another consciousness for its practitioner, it shouldn’t have been able to create an entirely new personality. The young boy was an entirely different being from Merlin. He detested Merlin, which meant he hated himself. If the young boy was truly part of him, then could it mean that Merlin had some sort of personality disorder?

“Stop staring, idiot.”

After seeing the contempt in the young boy’s eyes, Merlin made his decision.

‘Let’s stop. I can’t use this.’

Merlin was about to release the genuine qi that was collected at the crown of his head. However, he couldn’t. The ball of genuine qi zipped around freely, it was no longer under Merlin’s control.

“Ah… I can’t cancel this… this… no…!”

“What?” Miho snapped at Merlin.

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Hahaha.”

“I don’t know what you’re doing but be quiet. We’re in a holy area.”

“Yes, madam.”

“You’re acting weird again.” Miho grumbled as she turned her head.

Once Miho’s head was turned, Merlin shot a ferocious glare at the young boy. He was flabbergasted that the Qi Gong Technique couldn’t be undone once it was used. What kind of stupid setting was this? While Merlin was at a loss for words, the young boy sighed; he didn’t care what Merlin was thinking.

“Dummy. Do you think I’d disappear so easily?”

“Ugh…” Merlin groaned.

At that moment, Quiet Heaven quietly whispered to Merlin.

“It’s making its appearance.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Look.”

Whoosh!

In an instant, a beam of light blasted down from the ceiling to the center of the hall, sending out a huge shockwave. It was a dimensional door connecting to a foreign dimension!

“Oh, Great Will!”

“Great Will!”

The representatives kneeled one by one. Merlin had no intention of doing so, but Miho pinched his side and forced him to kneel.

Sss!

The light shining down from above burned brighter, and at that moment…!

/System check… please wait. Please wait. Due to a special order, the system check time shall be extended. System check will commence for 74 hours and 57 minutes…/

“… What?”

Merlin’s mouth was wide open in shock. This turn of events was truly unimaginable.

“Oh, it’s not yet time for the Great Will to make its appearance…”

“We’ll have to wait a little longer.”

However, Merlin was the only one who seemed puzzled; the rest of the representatives just sighed and returned to their assigned areas. No one found the unexpected system message strange.

“W-what? Can all of you just sigh and move on, like nothing happened?”

“What are you talking about? If we’re told to wait, then we must wait.” said Miho.

“The system check message states that a special order was given! Isn’t that strange?”

“System check? Special order? What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean what am I talking about… Can’t you see the message?”

“The message?”

Seeing Miho’s thoroughly puzzled expression, Merlin realized that the message was only visible to users, so only he could see it. All the others had been given a different reason for the Great Will’s tardiness.

“You’re being silly. There is no way beings, who don’t even know their true identities, have access to that kind of information.”

‘I can’t hear… I can’t hear…’

The boy in the corner smirked at Merlin, but Merlin turned his body and started counting on his fingers.

“74 hours… that’s roughly three days.”

“What? You’re tired of waiting?”

“Of course, it’s tiring. Based on how things are progressing, I’m sure this is all part of some quest, but I don’t see why there needs to be such a long delay. This quest or whatever doesn’t even give EXP.”

Merlin and Miho returned to their assigned seats. Merlin put his hand on his forehead in anguish; he now had to spend three days in a place with no special facilities. Seeing the anguishing Merlin, Miho said,

“H-hey, if you’re bored of waiting, then why don’t we…”

But right then…

Ding Dong!

Accompanied by the sound of a doorbell, a message appeared in front of Merlin.

/You have an unread announcement notice./

“Hmm? I’m sorry. Give me a moment.”

Merlin opened his inventory and took out his Beholder. Quiet Heaven, still perched on Merlin’s head, spoke out.

“What’s with the out-of-the-blue announcement? What does it say?”

“Well. It doesn’t look like an announcement that just popped up… Maybe another monster is attacking Starting? I hope the Guardian Tower doesn’t get taken over and shattered again; I don’t want another login restriction period…”

Merlin grunted as he manipulated the Beholder to open the announcement notice.

/DIO (Dynamic Island Online), a fantasy world, the likes of which you’ve never seen before! Welcome to this exciting island!

Coming February 1st, we are opening a new, unrevealed continent far south of Dynamic Island! However, getting to this new continent is nearly impossible with the means of transportation currently available, so we have decided to launch the following event.

Event 1. Collect Gem Points!

Starting today, a group of jeweled fish from the Southern Ocean will appear every day at 7:00 PM (real time) for three days! (January 27-29). Catch the jeweled fish from aboard a boat, which will be distributed free of charge on shore for all users! You’ll receive Gem Points commensurate with the number of fish you catch. The Gem Points can be consumed for various other things.

Event 2. Carry out the mission!

You can receive a significant amount of Gem Points when you receive and complete missions from the guards stationed in all cities, including Starting. Each user can participate in these special missions a total of 3 times, and the rewards will vary depending on the difficulty setting. Note that the higher the user’s level, the more rewards one will receive, so please level up! DIO is a rough game that caters to high level users.

Event 3. Build a Flying Shuttle!

You can purchase a Flying Shuttle by using your accumulated Gem Points. In addition to the possibility of purchasing a Flying Shuttle, it is also possible to buy and assemble individual parts to construct a Flying Shuttle. Gem Points can also be used to strengthen the Flying Shuttle parts, such as the hull.

There may be users who don’t want to make a Flying Shuttle or travel to the New Continent, as it’s too far away. To these users, we say, don’t worry! Gem Points can be traded for a wide variety of items and can also be used to upgrade equipment!

A fresh, new continent shall open! Large-scale battles and constant struggles with numerous forces that take place in these new lands shall commence! We are looking forward to the appearance of the New Continent, and we hope you are too!/